When I was but a young Consumerist, the only way to get your hands on an American Girl doll — once parents had been successfully harangued into purchasing the pricey toy — was by mail order. Since then, Pleasant Company, now a subsidiary of Mattel, has 20 stores around the country dedicated to selling the dolls as well as a website. Times are changing yet again: starting next month, the dolls will also be available at Toys ‘R’ Us stores. [More]

Long gone are the days of parents tussling it out in toy store aisles over Cabbage Patch Dolls, those squish-faced darlings of the early ’80s, but there are still people willing to duke it out in the name of the doll. This time, they’re toy companies, and they’re fighting each other in court. [More]

Bratz, a line of noseless fashion dolls whose owner has spent the last decade in litigation with Barbie-maker Mattel, have returned to store shelves. Is this a good thing? Maybe. The company is certainly making a big deal out of its relaunch, with ad campaigns, a “brand anthem,” and a big event in Times Square. [More]

Barbie has spent her entire life standing on her tiptoes and boy, she must be tired. Too long has she toiled for hours in dream mansions and in ice cream shoppes without the benefit of having her feet flat on the ground, encased comfortably in flat shoes. Her time has come: Mattel’s newest line of dolls have adjustable ankles, and a line of flat footwear to go with that new flexibility.

After a 2008 court ruling found that the creator of the Bratz line of dolls had stolen the idea from Mattel (or rather, from himself, when he was working for Mattel), all Bratz products were supposed to be destroyed, and Mattel had the right to take over the brand and do whatever it wanted with it. A judge put the mass annihilation on hold, and today an appeals court overturned the initial ruling, meaning your local toy store may soon be carrying the next generation of the once-popular dolls.

Shopping for toys at Target, Anthony noticed an interesting change in a small, inexpensive doll that his daughter enjoys. The princesses have been affected by a toy shrink ray–the dolls are smaller, the mold used to make them is different, and they come with fewer accessories–for the same price, naturally.

Looking for the perfect gift for the little girl who has everything, from her own pet llama to dramatic ski and swim vacations? If the little girl happens to be Chrissa, a character in the American Girl doll series, a homeless friend may just be the perfect accessory. And if you’re a real little girl, wouldn’t you just love a homeless friend, too? Or, better yet, a homeless friend doll, for a mere $95?

A Spanish toy company has a new doll out that allows girls to play-breastfeed. Girls put on a special haltertop with daisies over their nipples and draw the doll in when it cries. When the doll’s lips press against the girl’s pink daisies, the baby makes little suckling sounds.

Becca Beushausen, a 26-year-old woman who went by “April’s Mom” online, scammed gullible readers out of money to help pay for a fake pregnancy. Then she accidentally screwed up her scam by posting a photo of the supposed baby last week. “‘It wasn’t a photo of a baby at all,’ said Elizabeth Russell, a mother and maker of lifelike Reborn Dolls, ‘It was a doll. I have that same doll.'”

The Caylee Anthony“tribute” dolls are back up for sale, according to the company’s “tribute” website. So far, we can’t find a way to actually buy them. We’re loaded up with “Caylee Sunshine” bracelets and tees, however. That should creep out all the parents in Park Slope. [CayleeDoll.com] (Thanks to Craig!)

Now you too can be a part of the Caylee Anthony saga unfolding on cable news networks! What’s that? This is a grotesque commercialization of what should be a private tragedy? Don’t be such a downer! “We want it to be a tribute,” Showbiz Promotions prez Jaime Salcedo told the Orlando Sentinel. Heck, he’s even thinking of donating $3 per purchase to some good cause or another.

Best Buy told Rob that his coupon for 25% off three toys did not apply to video games because video games are not toys. Sad and confused, Rob went home and searched for “toy” on Best Buy’s website. Hop across the jump to see what appeared.

This story is just heartbreaking. We feel really, really bad for this little girl. Etta saved all her money and purchased a pretty doll from Target named Gracie. When she was invited by her friend to bring her doll to American Girl Place for a “doll hairstyle” she was thrilled…until the stylist chided her for not having a “real” doll and refused her business.

Is there no end to the foul things parents hear their children’s toys say? Already this season Ariel the Mermaid has been accused of calling people “sluts.” Now the Bratz baby is saying fuck you to people. Could it be that the doll is singing “So Cute?” That’s what the lyrics posted on the Bratz website say, but that didn’t stop parents from alerting the media. In the news reports they actually beeped out “So Cute” when they played the song, as if that was going to help parents make an informed decision about whether or not “so cute” sounds too much like “fuck you” for their tastes.